A Vaccine for Rheumatoid Arthritis
By Brenda Goodman
Medical Editor, Arthritis Today
September 25, 2008 — British researchers have announced that they will soon begin human testing of an experimental vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
To make the vaccine, scientists at Newcastle University, in Newcastle-on-Tyne in the U. K., will use steroids, vitamin D, and chemicals to turn a patient’s own white blood cells into specialized tolerogenic dendritic cells, which are believed to switch off the immune system.
The vaccine will then be injected into the knees of eight study volunteers with rheumatoid arthritis to see if it can stop the disease process.
"That would have to be something that would have to be individualized patient by patient, but I think that's acceptable when you're talking about autoimmune disease," said William H. Robinson, M.D., PhD, assistant professor of immunology and rheumtology and director of the Robinson Lab at Stanford University in California.
Dr. Robinson, who is not involved in the Newcastle project, has been working to develop vaccines for autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis and type I diabetes. He says several research teams have tried, but failed, to develop a vaccine for RA using the approach that is being tested at Newcastle.
"I’m not aware of any good data suggesting that it might work in humans," Dr. Robinson said. "They’re very much trailblazing that way."
The technique, turning the body's own white blood cells into a vaccine, has been tried before in cancer research, but this is the first time such an approach has been tried for arthritis.
In a university press release, John Isaacs, MB BS, PhD., a professor of rheumatology in the University’s Musculoskeletal Research Group and the leader of the study, called the vaccine “hugely exciting.”
If the shots seem to be safe and effective, this pilot study could set the stage for larger human trials.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news and research about rheumatoid arthritis.
